Stylish Stool Makeover

I’m showing you another glimpse into my closet makeover today but still not the whole thing (sorry…I have to have time and my clothes put away. Not sure when that is going to happen).

I store some boxes of things I don’t need to get into every day high on some shelves in the closet. It makes it so much more convenient to access those if I keep a step-stool nearby. I decided my plain (paint-splattered) step-stool needed its own high-fashion makeover if it was going to live in my new fashionable closet. With the help of Martha Stewart’s Decoupage product (available at Michaels), I took my stool from functional to runway ready!

This step stool is from IKEA and we have had it and used it for several years. I actually neglected to get the real before picture. The stool was looking quite dingy and had paint drippings on it from previous DIY projects. At the very least, it needed to be cleaned before beginning it’s makeover. We opted to sand it down a bit because of the spilled paint. I didn’t want any bumps on the surface of the finished stool. The before picture is actually taken after that point. (And when I was beginning to paint…oops!)

2) Paint.

You may not want to cover the entire surface of the stool like I did. The Martha Stewart decoupage line includes many cutouts–like paper doilies, flowers, birds. If you work with these, you’ll want to paint a base coat on your surface and let it dry before adding your cut-outs. In my case, I just painted the legs and support pieces of the stool, since I planned to fully cover the flat surfaces. I used the Martha Stewart metallic paint and brushed on a light coat. I liked the effect and the brush strokes. I know DIYers (myself included) are often found touting the virtues of spray paint for quick makeover projects, but I don’t think spray paint could have given me the softer effect I got here with the brush.

Let the paint dry completely.

3) Decide on Placement

I wanted something black and white and a little sassy for my stool, but I wasn’t sure what. I found this houndstooth pillow case at my local thrift store, I thought I would be perfect. It is fabric, which makes sense in a closet full of clothes, and houndstooth has been an important pattern in fashion. (And it was cheap! Always a bonus). I lined it up to my stool and used the design to help me cut cut straight edges. I didn’t cut it perfectly but was able to do a little trimming after it was glued down.

4) Glue down the items.

I believe the directions say to apply the decoupage medium to the back of the items you are adding to glue them down. Since I was covering a large area with fabric, I used the large brush to apply it directly to the wood in sections of the stool, then place the fabric and smoothed it down. You can get away with a little bit of repositioning if you hurry, but best not to move it around too much. The trim I added around the edges is washi tape (again, I thought the measuring tape one appropriate), so I skipped the glue step for this one and went right on to step 5.

5) Go over the top of everything with the Decoupage Finish.

It is the same product you used to glue down your materials, but now you brush it evenly over the top of whatever items you have placed on your project. My fabric was fairly thick, so I used a couple of fairly thick coats to make sure that it was all sealed and would be able to stand-up to all of the abuse, like me standing on it. I also brushed the finish right over the top of the washi tape all around the edges.